Figuring out the best Black Girl haircare routine for the gym can be difficult. When I started out lifting, it was difficult to find a routine that prevented my hair from getting dry by the sweat. For years, I just used hair spray. Whenever I took out my braids, my hair would be really dry. There was a lot of breakage and my hair wasn’t healthy. In the last few years, I have trialled different routines to see what works best for me. If you like to wear protective styles such as braids, twists, and loc, I have a routine for you. If you like to wear closures and frontals, I have a solid routine to maintain moisture and promote healthy hair.
Caring for our afro hair for the gym can be difficult if you don’t know where to start. With the right hair care practices and Black girl haircare products, you can both enjoy the gym and take care of your hair. You’ll be able to prevent common issues like breakage, dandruff, dryness and an itchy scalp.
For all my Black women that struggle with ‘I want to go to the gym but I don’t know what to do with my hair’. Our hair shouldn’t be the reason why we limit our frequency in the gym. If you wear wigs, protective styles like braids and locs; have a silk press or texture release – there are so many ways that you can protect or maintain your styles and still train in the gym.
Products Needed
- Sulphate free & paraben free shampoo
- Co-wash product of choice
- Leave-in conditioner of choice
- Sprayer bottle with water
- A hair oil (10% off with Folakemi10)
- Dry sweat hairband (for silk press, frontals, closures etc.)
- A cap (if you want to wear your cornrows or if that is your preferred method)
If you have any style that is not braids, locs or twists, I recommend wearing a dry sweat hairband over your edges and the lace in your wigs. Sweat will definitely lift up everything that you have laid, a hairband or a cap is highly recommended.
Black Girl Haircare Tips For The Mornings
My ultimate Black Girl haircare routine starts in the morning. This routine works whether you wear protective styles or wigs. Regardless if you workout in the morning or not, you should follow these tips for maximum hydration:
- Spritz your hair with water BEFORE you go into the shower. It doesn’t need to be damp but make sure you do it. The steam from the shower is going to help unclog the pores in your scalp, which is going to encourage hair growth. It allows toxins to be released from the scalp, purifying it and increasing collagen production and blood flow to the scalp.
- After your shower, generously apply a leave-in conditioner of your choice to your hair. Make sure that you give extra TLC to your ends and edges.
- Lightly apply hair oil onto your scalp, your edges and your ends. Massage it in.
Black Girl Haircare Tips For The Evenings
This is what I do in the mornings after I come back from the gym and on my rest days. It may seem like a lot to do this every day but our hair gets really dry in the colder months due to the harsh weather and colder temperatures.
If you feel that your scalp and hair feels dry during the afternoon, spritz it with water and apply some leave-in conditioner again. DON’T add any oil.
You can’t have a great routine in the morning and not have one in the evening. In the evening, you pretty much do the same thing.
If you don’t shower in the evening, that’s fine. Make sure that you spritz your hair with water and give it sometime to soak in. The only difference is that you are going to skip Step 2 and only commit to Step 1 & 3. I highly suggest doing this 2-3 hours before you go to bed to allow your hair to take in the oil and to avoid staining your pillow cases.
Protective Styles
I tend to wear braids more often than any other protective style. I usually switch to wigs in between my braiding styles to give my hair a 4-6 week break minimum from all the manipulation. Depending on how long I keep my braids in is the deciding factor for how many times I choose to clarify my braids.
Every 2-3 weeks, I like to clarify my braids. It’s similar to a wash day except that I don’t deep condition my hair. A sulphate and paraben free shampoo, a co-wash of choice, a leave-in conditioner and hair oil. Your braids are going to feel to heavy after clarifying them yet, your scalp will feel fresh and it will increase the longevity of your braids.
Wigs: Closures
For wigs, I have only worn closures and I believe that the same tips can apply for frontals. The most important thing is keeping your hair and scalp as hydrated and moisturised as possible. Keep your sprayer bottle, your leave-in conditioner and oil on deck at all times especially now during the winter months. Wearing a wig cap can dry out your scalp. Be vigilant and extra nurturing when you hydrate your hair and lock in all that moisture with your hair oil.
I like to take out my cornrows every 4 weeks to do a complete wash day with deep conditioning and then put my hair back into cornrows. This is to ensure that my hair is fresh and that the sweat and toxins are not getting trapped.
And that is it! The Ultimate Black Girl Haircare Routine For The Gym and you can use this for pretty much any protective styles. Keeping a consistent routine to hydrate and moisturise your hair and scalp is the key. It shouldn’t stop you from going to the gym, getting that workout in and improving your health. This is the first time I’ve spoken about hair on this blog before but better later than never! I hope that this blog post was helpful for you, please share it with a friend who would benefit from this. I have videos on this on Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok– so check those out! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe and join the blog squad!
Until next time,
Folakemi
